Another year has passed since the Rana Plaza catastrophe in Bangladesh. Despite some progress, the garment industry still grapples with safety issues as the battle for better conditions along global supply chains persists.
24 April marks another year since the devastating collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh. It is 12 years since 1134 workers lost their lives and over 2500 were rescued from the building, many with life-changing injuries.
The scale of the tragedy revealed the harsh reality of workers’ exploitation in the extended supply chains that dominate the global textile and garment industry. These workers, most of them women, were making clothes for well-known multinational brands that had been deliberately ignoring their health and safety concerns and working conditions. As the truth came to light, demands for corporate responsibility intensified.
The Rana Plaza disaster forced the world to confront the mass exploitation that lies behind the global capitalist system. The tragic event continues to serve as a stark reminder of the urgent need for reforms and more transparency in textile and garment industrial supply chains.
The Bangladesh Accord, born from the rubble, has made significant strides in improving factory safety standards. Despite improvements, the garment industry still faces challenges in achieving safe workplaces and better working conditions. The Accord, negotiated by IndustriALL Global Union and UNI Global Union, promotes worker safety through inspections, training programmes and empowering workers to refuse unsafe work. But both the local and global efforts must continue to ensure decent conditions for workers.
The garment industry continues to face significant challenges. The minimum wage in Bangladesh is still very low. International fashion brands pressure local suppliers, leading to inadequate wages and precarious employment. The European garment industry has not been spared: textiles is the sector with the lowest wages in Europe. Due diligence legislation is essential to prevent human rights violations in textile value chains, which is both complex and fragmented at a global level.
Judith Kirton-Darling, General Secretary of industriAll Europe, says: “For the union movement, the Rana Plaza catastrophe reinforced an urgent demand: a robust, binding legal framework that holds multinationals accountable, legally and morally for the protection of workers’ rights and the environment across their entire supply chains. We need a framework where corporate responsibility is not an empty promise, but a binding obligation. And crucially, where workers have a seat at the table on compliance. European Due Diligence Legislation aims to hold companies accountable for human rights violations throughout their value chains. The new EU rules are under sustained attack from industry but we remind that behind these rules are real people’s lives.
“European trade unions call for reforms in EU trade and investment policies, emphasising respect for workers’ rights and environmental standards. The Rana Plaza disaster must remind us that the fight for safe factories for garment workers is far from over. The international community must strive to ensure safe and healthy workplaces throughout supply chains.”